Evening in Eden

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Joanne Davidson
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September 6, 2009 @ 7:30 am
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In General |
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Guests enjoy cocktails in the garden of the Kern family compound in Castle Pines Village. Photo by Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post

Some fundraising events are like a three-ring circus: Loud and wild and busy as a beehive.
Others, like An Evening in Eden, are more serene, enabling guests to enjoy a quiet elegance that’s fun, refreshing and very, very special.Jerry Kern and his wife, Mary Rossick Kern, were the hosts for this 1960s-themed dinner that marked the 10th anniversary of the Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders. Their home in Castle Pines Village is surrounded by a botanical wonderland combining the best of East and West, and is a treat to visit.
The Kerns (he’s an attorney and president of Symphony Media) founded the nonprofit Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders in 1999 and are members of its governing board. Dr. Robert Freedman, chair of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Psychiatry, is the scientific director and Steve Edmonds is the executive director.
The institute is headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora and supports research that is leading to improved treatments and the prevention of mental illness in children. The Kern garden was designed by a team headed by Martin Mosko, president of the Boulder-based Marpa Design Studio. Mosko also is an ordained Zen priest and abbbot of Hakubai Temple.
A string quartet made up of Dorian Kincaid, Anne-Marie Hoffman, Margaret Hoeppner and Mary Cowell provided soothing classical music as guests explored the nooks and crannies of the spectacular garden whose elements are based on the idea of metaphorical mountains which represent both animal spirits and specific cosmic energies.
“This garden is a return to the roots of landscape architecture: making our own version of paradise,” Mosko says. “Frequently, landscape architechts think of creating elegant solutions to problems of drainage, screening and movement,making functional spaces. This design goes beyond that, to a search for ways to express our unspoken yearning for sheer beauty and sensual delight.”
The garden surrounds both the principal residence and the guest house where cocktails and the buffet supper were served. Following dinner, master of ceremonies Ed Greene introduced the Colorado Symphony’s concert mistress and occupant of the Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern Chair, Yumi Hwang-Williams, for a musical interlude. Greene also conducted the four-item live auction that included a four-night stay in Villa Maria, the Kern’s vacation home in Punta de Mita, Mexico.
Institute board members on hand for the party included Terry Biddinger, Steve Brett, Dick Saunders and Fred and Roxanne Vierra. Roxanne was high bidder on a Tiffany gift basket that included jewelry, sunglasses and scarf, while Dick Saunders snapped up the Villa Maria stay.
And speaking of scarves, Deb Smith and Debbie Gradishar arrived at the Kern home by way of a reception for artist Peter Max in Cherry Creek North. Smith was wearing a Peter Max scarf that she has had since high school and was thrilled that the artist not only autographed it for her at the reception, but offered to buy it, as well.
She said she’d rather keep it.
Former Denverite Fern Portnoy also was among the guests, flying in from the East Coast with hubby Roger Goldman. The couple met in 2007 when they were visiting the same friend in Florida and were married in December. In addition to Evening in Eden, the Goldmans were here for the wedding of Swanee Hunt’s daughter, which took place the following day.Nancy and Tony Accetta were at the Kern party, too; she chairs the Colorado Bright Beginnings board and was spreading the word about the organization’s fall fundraiser, a luncheon on Nov. 4 that features an address by Dr. Alison Gopnik, author of “Scientist in the Crib” and “The Philosophical Baby.”
Others enjoying this very pleasant evening were Jim and Julie Copenhaver; Victoria Frank; Jay and Kristina Davidson; Roberta Greengard; Janyce Wald; Peter and Caroline Landgraff; Greg and Julie Lucas; Carol and Dr. Sheldon Roger; Stan and Sarah Sena; Ellen Stewart; Dr. John Biddinger; Michele Falivene; Jack and Adrienne Fitzgibbons; Jane Robb; and Jennifer Heglin.
The star of the show, however, wasn’t any of the above. It was the newest addition to the Kern household: a Havanese pup named Mikey.